It is known to utilize a bed of adsorbent, such as barium carbonate, to collect oxides of nitrogen from the exhaust of an internal combustion engine, and periodically regenerating the adsorbent by means of a gas containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which may be referred to as “syngas”.
In copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/159,369, filed May 31, 2002, such a system employing a pair of NOx traps utilizes four valves, two high temperature exhaust valves alternatively directing the exhaust to one NOx trap or the other, and the other pair of valves alternatively directing syngas to the second trap or the first trap. The high temperature exhaust valves are expensive, cumbersome, and subject to leaks. When exhaust leaks into the same stream with the syngas, the oxygen in the exhaust reacts with the hydrogen in the syngas, which is a waste of syngas, and which can lead to dangerous situations. A four valve system can be difficult to control properly.
Problems that are encountered with the generation of syngas include the fact that if a catalytic partial oxidizer is used, the temperature may be sufficiently low so that the CPO will not light off (begin the combustion process) at the temperature of the flow therein.
Problems with some of the deNOx catalysts include that steam or water in the exhaust stream will reduce the activity of the catalyst, such as in the decomposition of the reducted N2O.